Andy Ott needed to head out of the house last Friday to get a few simple things he had had on his list including batteries, paper towels, bananas, and catsup. His wife Tessa had warned him that Target would be “pretty crazy” but Andy insisted on going believing that his items would not be in the middle of the fray. Andy was wrong.

“It started with finding a parking spot,” said Andy. “I had to park on one of the streets in the Northfield Mall area and walk to Target. “I thought I could run in there and run out, but it took me forever just to get to the paper towels. I wasn’t even near the electronics or the toys, but was struggling to even move in there. I thought about leaving, but I was determined to get the items on my list, mostly out of spite.”
After 45 minutes of simply making his way through the store to grab his items, Andy ran to the “express line.” “The line was 50 people deep,” said Ott. “It was ridiculous. But by that time, I was hell bent on getting those items and getting out of there. At one point, I sincerely thought about making a run for it, but they had so much security, I knew I would get caught.”

Andy did finally make it through check out and back to his car with his seven or eight items. The process took him two and a half hours, but he did learn from the experience. “I will never again leave the house on Black Friday, and will stick to things I am good at like drinking and watching football.”